Weekly Email – Advent 4
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Dear friends,
I write to you on the Friday in Advent known by the title “O Clavis” – “O Key.” In the last days of Advent, the church calls upon the Saviour to come and save his people under a series of beautiful and ancient titles drawn from the Old Testament.
Today, the antiphon at Vespers calls on the Lord, “O Key of David and Sceptre of Israel, what you open, no one else can close again; and what you close, no one can open. O come and lead the captive from prison; free those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.”
It is intriguing to contemplate ourselves as captives and those imprisoned. Modernity encourages to think of ourselves as liberated, free individuals. However, this antiphon confronts us with the painful truth that we are in fact enslaved to sin and death and cannot free ourselves by our own power. We yearn for a Saviour who will unlock our lives, and reconcile us with the Father.
As we enter these last days of Advent, our minds turn to the many celebrations of Christmas that lie ahead in the coming days. This Sunday evening sees our parish Service of Nine Lessons and Carols at 6.00 pm. The music will be wonderful and includes: Susanni, trad.; Adam lay ybounden, Ord; King Jesus, trad. arr. Brown; No small wonder, Edwards; Lo, that is a marvellous change, Moore; Ave Maria, Phillips; Sussex Carol trad. arr. Willcocks. I urge you to come along and to bring friends and relatives. It is a beautiful opportunity to celebrate the Nativity of Christ and to bring others into contact with All Saints’.
On Christmas Eve itself, there will be two High Masses: one at 6.30 pm for those who would find an earlier celebration more convenient; and one at 11.00 pm for those who wish to be present for the Mass in the Night. The music at the 6.30 pm High Mass will include the Spatzenmesse by Mozart and Darke’s beautiful setting of In the bleak midwinter. The Midnight High Mass at 11.00 pm will be sung to Mozart’s Missa Brevis in D and The Little Road to Bethlehem, by Head will be the Offertory Anthem. At both Masses, there will be ample opportunity to sing many much-loved Christmas carols.
Christmas Day itself will begin with the Low Mass of the Dawn at 8.30 am. This will be a short, simple celebration for those for whom that is most convenient. There will then be a High Mass at 11.00 am. The music will include Michael Haydn’s Missa Brevis in C and Sweelinck’s Hodie Christus natus est.
I look forward to celebrating the Saviour’s birth with you and wish you all a blessed last few days of Advent,
Fr Peter
Gaudete Sunday thanks
We are very grateful indeed to Simon Rainey for sponsoring the music at the High Mass on Gaudete Sunday and also for providing a wonderful mid Advent treat in the form of a champagne drinks party for everyone in the courtyard after the Mass. Many thanks indeed, Simon, for your generosity and for such a splendid party!
Many thanks to Simon Rainey for the wonderful drinks party we had in our courtyard after the High Mass for Gaudete Sunday – Rejoice!
Service changes over Christmas
Please note that on the Sunday after Christmas (29th December), there will be no 5.15 pm Low Mass or Evensong.
Please also note that in the days after Christmas Day, there is only one Mass a day at 12 noon (i.e. there is no evening Mass at 6.30 pm). Full details are in the service schedule at the end of this email.
We were very touched and gratified to receive a generous visit after Evensong on Sunday from our Buddhist neighbours at the Fo Guang Shan Temple on Margaret Street. In a spirit of fraternity and goodwill, they came to wish us a happy Christmas. We assured them, in turn, of our prayers and best wishes for their community of faith. We are so lucky to have such kind and thoughtful neighbours!
Christmas Confessions
There is still plenty of opportunity to make your confession before Christmas. Priests will be available to hear confessions at the following times over these last few days of Advent:
Friday 20th December 5-6 pm:
Fr David Houlding & Fr Peter Anthony
Saturday 21st December 5-6 pm:
Fr Peter Anthony & Fr Alan Rimmer
Monday 23rd December 5-6 pm:
Fr Nigel Palmer & Fr Alan Rimmer
The parish clergy of All Saints’ are always available to hear confessions at other times by appointment, before or after any Low Mass, and on Saturdays at 6.00 pm each week.
Many thanks to all who have contributed to the hospitality we have offered to over 2000 people over the past fortnight who have come to All Saints’ for carol services. Our parish cauldron has boiled up gallons and gallons of mulled wine each night over the past few days!
External Carol Services
Over the past two weeks a large number of “external” institutions have come to All Saints’ for their Christmas Carol services. It has been a great joy to welcome so many schools, colleges, and firms at nine carol services.
I want to say a huge thank you to all those who have helped in any way with the hospitality which we offer to those who come to All Saints’ for a carol service. A wonderful group of parishioners has planned and organised our hospitality and have been unfailingly selfless in the hours they have dedicated to this important work over the past couple of weeks. We have served an enormous number of mince pies and gallons of mulled wine! Special thanks should go to Kate Hodgetts, Christ Self and Janet Drake for coordinating this effort so well.
The final attendance figures are now in, and it is clear a total of 2,218 people have attended a carol service at All Saints’ over the past two weeks. This is double the number we welcomed last year and is a really significant achievement. Many thanks indeed to all involved!
We are hugely grateful to all the volunteers who have helped welcome those who have come to All Saints’ for carol services, and who have provided refreshments to hundreds of visitors each night.
British Library: Medieval Women
A parish trip will take place in the New Year on Tuesday 28th January 2025 at 6.00 pm to the British Library to see a new exhibition called, “Medieval Women: in their own words.” The exhibition seeks to help us discover more about “the rich and complex lives of women in the Middle Ages, with over 140 extraordinary items that reveal their artistry, resourcefulness, courage and struggles.”
Our visit to “Medieval Women” will then be followed by supper together at Pizza Express on the Euston Road, opposite the Library. The exhibition costs £15 and the two course dinner at Pizza Express is £30. You can book your tickets and places for the dinner via Eventbrite here.
A week after our visit to the exhibition, there will be the opportunity to discuss, analyse and debate what we saw further through one of our Zoom Theology seminars on Tuesday 4th February at 7.00 pm.
We were very pleased to welcome the choir of Keble College, Oxford on Tuesday to All Saints’. They sang a wonderful liturgy for the college’s alumni and London friends.
British Museum: Silk Roads
There will be a parish trip on 7th February 2025, to see the splendid new exhibition at the British Museum entitled, “Silk Roads.” The exhibition examines the network of trade, travel and intellectual connections that linked East and West through the first Millennium.
I am particularly grateful that we have been able to obtain from the British Museum 15 free tickets for this exhibition. They will be apportioned on a “first come; first served” basis. We will meet at the British Museum at 6.00 pm and you can book your place on this trip here on our Eventbrite account. Our visit to the British Museum will finish with the option of dinner at Le Beaujolais restaurant in Soho. The 3 course dinner at Le Beaujolais is £55 per head with parishioners paying for their own drinks.
Attendance last Sunday
St Peter’s College, Oxford, were with us last Friday. Their carol service drew old members of the college from all over London and was a wonderful feast of Christmas music.
For your prayers
The Friends of All Saints’ Margaret Street:
22nd – Richard Hoskinson, Marissa Howard-McNatt, Fr David Hutt, Alfred Imhoff, David James, Andrew Jervis, Stephen Jury, Malcolm Kemp
23rd – Alan Kimbrough, Brenda Koupis, Stanislav Kudryashov, Christopher Laws, Margaret Leggett
24th – Cornelius Logue, Frau Dr Christiane Loidl-Rainey, Nigel Lynn, Henry Macey, Bishop Michael Marshall, Robert Mason, Graham Mather
25th – Judith Mather, The Ven Fr Stephen McClatchie, John McWhinney, Colin Menzies, Amanda Miller
26th – Thomas Moller, Michael Mortensen, Barry Moore, Deacon Christopher Morash, Grace Morgan, Dr John Morrell, Fr. Stephen Morris, Inger Mosbery, Lachlan Moyle, Carol Mundell
27th – Christopher Naylor, Brian Newman, Barry Newsome, Elaine Norman, Richard North, Fr. Paul Ockford
28th – Fr. Peter and Anna Oesterby-Joergensen, Daniel Oliver, Fr. Barry Orford, Nicholas Page, Samantha Parker, Malcolm Parr, Bhaven Patel, Alma Pearson, Gladys Pearson
The sick:
Bishop Christopher Chessun, David Craig, Tony Hawkins, Fr Harry Hodgetts, Arthur Johnson, Michael Lamprell, Elizabeth Lyon, James Rodger, Fr James Rosenthal, Jan Smith.
The faithful departed:
Alvin Emery, Wendy Mullen, Graham Norman, David Weller, Elizabeth Rankin, Pauline Ellis, Michael Parslew, Lee Nyuk Chin.
Those whose anniversaries of death fall at this time:
22nd – Elizabeth Ross, Anthony Greek, Richard Routledge, Helen Turner
23rd – Harold Pobjoy Pr, Anne Scott
24th – Cynthia Tucker, Miriam Smith, Augustus Thompson, Paul De Fortis Pr, Doreen Forde
26th – Hugh Warren Pr, Lennox Berkeley
27th – Desmond Berk, Kenneth Bond
28th – Percy Flemine, Richard Williams, Paul Drake, Ernest Gaskell, Gordon Symes, Rosemary Harris
29th – Katherine Mundy Dn, Brian Lee
Parishioners enjoying our drinks party last Sunday in honour of Gaudete Sunday.
Service times this week
Friday 20th December – O Clavis
12 noon Low Mass
5.00 pm Confessions: Fr David Houlding & Fr Peter Anthony
6.30 pm Low Mass
Saturday 21st December – O Oriens
12 noon Low Mass
5.00 pm Confessions: Fr Peter Anthony & Fr Alan Rimmer
6.30 pm Vigil Mass of Sunday
Sunday 22nd December – ADVENT IV
8.30 am Low Mass
11 am High Mass
5.15 pm Low Mass
6.00 pm Service of 9 Lessons and Carols
Monday 23rd December – O Emmanuel
12 noon Low Mass
5.00 pm Confessions: Fr Nigel Palmer & Fr Alan Rimmer
6.30 pm Low Mass
Tuesday 24th December – Christmas Eve
12 noon Advent Mass of Christmas Eve
6.30 pm First High Mass of Christmas
11.00 pm Midnight High Mass
Wednesday 25th December – Christmas Day
8.30 am Low Mass
11.00 am High Mass
Thursday 26th December – S. Stephen
12 noon Low Mass
Friday 27th December – S. John the Evangelist
12 noon Low Mass
Saturday 28th December – Holy Innocents
12 noon Low Mass
6.30 pm Vigil Mass of Sunday
Sunday 29th December – Holy Family
8.30 am Low Mass
11 am High Mass